FLIGHT PLANNING

GENERAL BRIEFING

V1.0

12 January 2007

FLIGHT PLANNING

TABLE OF CONTENTS
HOME PREPARATION ......................................................................................... 3
GROSS ERROR CHECKING (GEC) ..................................................................... 3
AIRPORT AND ROUTE QUALIFICATION............................................................. 4
FLIGHT PLANNING PROCESS ............................................................................ 4
SUMMARY ............................................................................................................ 5

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FLIGHT PLANNING
GENERAL BRIEFING

V1.0

12 January 2007

Revision Record
Version

Date

Source

Change

Reason

Page/s

21/01/07

FOT

Original Issue

N/A

All

P. Donazzan

Disclaimer:
This briefing remains the property of QANTAS. Copying for other than students own use
is illegal. The subject content of this brief is correct at the time of publishing. In any case,
the Flight Crew Operations Manuals are the authoritative documents. It is the
responsibility of users to ensure that they are aware of changes or corrections to subject
matter circulated by QANTAS.

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HOME PREPARATION
Many pilots prepare at home or in the crew hotel prior to trip commencement. There
are facilities for Jeppesen Charts/State and specific Airport information on the Qantas
website.
Use of Airservices Australia internet preflight briefing facilities for weather and
NOTAMs can often be of assistance,
The flight ops website also has a Meteorology homepage with extensive links to
worldwide resources.
The RMS is accessible via the Flight Technical website link
Jeppesen charts can be downloaded from the jeppesen website.
All these links are accessible via the FOT (Flight Operations Training) Library
homepage.
Note: This information does not replace your Qantas produced flight planning
package or the up to date onboard aircraft library.

GROSS ERROR CHECKING (GEC)

At the very least, prior to arrival at briefing, an initial mental model of the expected
route and fuel order is required. This also forms the basis of gross error checking
throughout the planning process. Your own examination of your performance
planning for your type will give typical figures for T/O, climb and cruise fuel flow per
hour. This together with normal fuel reserve figures will give an expected fuel order.
How do we do this? Firstly we need to approximate our fuel burn for the total flight
time. This is achieved by multiplying the flight time in hours by a rule of thumb fuel
burn (per hour) figure. On a short sector we multiply a higher figure for the first hour
as that includes T/O and Climb and a lesser figure to cover the remaining flight time.
On a longer leg an average fuel flow for the whole flight time will account for the extra
fuel of T/O and climb. To this we add our estimate for Variable Fuel Reserves (VFR)
and Fixed Fuel Reserve (FFR) and Approach (App.) as laid down in the Flight
Administration Manual (FAM) Fuel Chapter and come to a final estimate.
Lets take two different types, the 737 800 and 767 GE, and demonstrate a rule of
thumb which will form the basis for the gross error checking.
737 800 Sydney to Ayers Rock and 767 GE Sydney to Perth
737 800 SYD-AYQ, ETI 3 hours
1 X 3.0 (Tonnes per hour)= 3.0 kg for the first hour
2 X 2.5 (Tonnes per hour) = 5.0 kg for the remainder of the flight
VFR=0.8 kg
FFR=1.2 kg
App.=0.3 kg
Total estimated order =10.3 kg
ie 10,300 kg

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767 GE SYD-PER, ETI 4 hrs 30 mins

4.5 x 5.0 (Tonnes per hour) = 22.5 kg for the remainder of the flight
VFR= 1.5 kg
FFR= 2.0 kg
App = 1.0 kg
Total estimated order =27.0 kg
ie 27,000 kg
When you arrive at Flight Planning you will initially examine your plan and note the
total planned fuel, if it doesnt approximate your predetermined figure then there must
be a reason. This difference may be due to various causes, two examples of which
may be the carriage of TEMPO fuel, or that your planned cruising level is lower than
usual, resulting in a higher burn.
The important point here is, that assuming your gross error calculation is correct, we
need to understand the reason for any substantial difference. Errors are made in the
planning process and this check is essential to check accuracy.
For your interest, when the above-demonstrated GEC was compared against the
actual flightplans on the day that this section was written, the following resulted:

737 10,900 kg MOR, a difference of 600 kg.

Therefore a reasonably accurate GEC.

767 30,000kg MOR, a difference of 3,000kg.

On further examination of the flight plan, it was noted that there was an extra 45
mins holding requirement on that day, which equated to 3000kg, therefore an
accurate GEC.

The above figures are for example purposes only, you should refine your own gross
error check method utilising your type FCOM for various weight ranges, previous
flight plan examination, FAM and discussions with your Trainers and fellow
crewmembers.

AIRPORT AND ROUTE QUALIFICATION

Prior to sign on, Airport and Route Qualification requirements must be completed, as
per FAM requirements.

FLIGHT PLANNING PROCESS

The FAM specifies that the Captain will directly request the input from the other Flight
Crew members during briefings and critical situations. If you are the pilot flying you
will be expected to run the flight planning phase together with your crew. Delegate
tasks such as reading Notams/Intams appropriately so that when the fuel decision is
to be made, all input is sought and discussed prior to the final fuel order. Though the
final decision rests with the Captain, do come up with your own order and an
explanation for the decision.

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Flight planning requires analysis of the route, overall wind component, flight time v
schedule, DPA/DP1/DPD/DPE ports and calculations, payload v additional fuel,
enroute alternates and alternates to destination.
The altitude summary provides a clue to potential altitude blockages, ability to cope
with enroute weather and potential terminal area descent/fuel problems (usually
covered by Arrival Allowance at critical locations). The ATS DATA and NAV/LOG
DATA routes are normally reconciled here.
Overall wind component combined with the planned flight time v scheduled block
time provides an indication of whether schedule can be achieved and how
"optimistic" the MOR (Minimum Operational Requirement) fuel requirement may be.
The Regional Sections of the Meteorology Manual provide statistical route wind
component data.
In their flight plan preparation, Flight Dispatch Officers carry out a route analysis to
determine the shortest time track. This would be modified by political considerations
(e.g. civil war in Afghanistan), financial considerations (e.g. the overflight charges in
the CIS v the time loss on the Iranian route), and known volcanic activity.
The FAM lays down the policy on technical calls, offload of payload, and enroute
diversions (basically, consult with Operations Control as part of the decision-making
process.)
Weather now comes into the equation. Consider the weather at destination, alternate
and DP ports; are they all suitable for their planned purpose? The Operational Data
report should give the very latest information, but occasionally the forecast may have
changed due to the elapsed time since the flight plan was issued. Careful analysis
here can save great embarrassment later!
When considering the addition of extra fuel the following should be considered:
The Regulated Takeoff Weight (RTOW)-which in turn is affected by actual
environmental conditions, available runways, thrust options, Minimum Equipment
List/Configuration Deviation Guide penalty as applicable, variant differences,
pavement restrictions at the departure airport and subsequent landing airport and
Structural Maximum Taxi/Takeoff/Landing Weights etc
Offload of available cargo is subject to consultation with Operations Control
Maximum tank capacity, depending on variant
Additional cost of the fuel carried and the extra fuel burned to carry it.
Initial cruise altitude capability can be severely affected due to the additional
weight.

SUMMARY
The aim of the Flight Planning stage is to not only to select an appropriate fuel order
by forming a mental model of expected flight details but that by the process of
seeking input from all crew members an effective team develops and therefore good
leadership is established.
Gross error checking is used in all stages of flight and its application in the Flight
Planning process is essential.

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